Macy Gray - Beauty In The World

What this video is

Released in spring 2010 as Macy Gray's commercial comeback after the underperformance of her 2007 album Big, 'Beauty in the World' signaled a deliberate pivot toward accessible, uplifting pop-soul. The video's community-celebration aesthetic — cheerleaders, jump-rope children, hand-clapping — visually embodied post-recession optimism and collective resilience. The song's rapid cross-platform adoption (Ugly Betty…

Why it matters

Represents the neo-soul/pop crossover mode of the early 2010s, blending Gray's signature raspy vocal identity with folk-pop instrumentation and gospel hand-clap tradition. The video's performance-community format — as opposed to high-concept narrative — exemplifies the 'accessible anthem' visual…

The director

Adria Petty (born November 28, 1974, Los Angeles) is an American director, editor, and art director. Eldest daughter of rock musician Tom Petty. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate film program. Early career included…